Resolution Adopted by the
CCAR

Violence Against
Women

Adopted by the 101st Annual
Convention ofthe Central
Conference of American Rabbis
Seattle, Washington, June 1990

Background

Physical violence against
women is not news. Throughout history, women have been victimized
by acts of aggression predominantly
attributable to men. Although those acts have
a sexual component, they are primarily expressions
of anger and hatred. Typically, both in terms of intent and
consequences, these acts constitute recognized crimes
including rape, date rape, assault and battery,
sexual harassment in the workplace,
and domestic
violence.Societal institutions have been and
continue to be non-responsive to the victimization
of women. Few law enforcement agencies have
aggressive policies that enable them
to pursue the arrest and prosecution of men who commit these
violent crimes. Prosecutors exercise unrestricted discretion when
deciding whether to issue a warrant and on
what basis. Judges may be impacted by their own bias, which
holds the victim responsible
for
her own victimization.

THEREFORE,
the Central Conference of American Rabbis resolves to:

1. Heighten the awareness of the issue of
violence against women through education
programs within the congregations, drawing on the resources of
the UAHC, CCAR, NFTS,
NFTB, and
NFTY, incorporating such programs into religious schools, youth
groups,
and adult education;

2. Call for the development of
specific educational programs confronting date rapes;

3. Call for a plenary program at the
convention in 1991, as part of ongoing programs
on this subject;

4. Support and demand vigorous enforcement of existing laws
prohibiting all forms
of violence,
including domestic, against women and encourage legislative reforms
at the state, provincial, and local
level where necessary;

5.
Encourage local police departments, judges, prosecutors, and crown
attorneys to
attend training
courses sensitizing them to the issues of violence against women,
including the often misunderstood
seriousness of domestic violence;

6. Promote the formation of local programs to aid women who are
survivors of violence
and to
prevent future violence. Such programs include, but are not limited
to, shelters
for women and their
children, self-defense training, and behavior modification for
batterers;

7. Join the effort of
other groups to launch a massive campaign that will address
these issues.